62 EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



that of the Great White Egret. It is resident and breeds in 

 suitable localities throughout the whole of Africa and the 

 Cape Verd Islands, occasionally visiting the Canaries and the 

 Azores. To Europe it is only a summer migrant, breeding in 

 Spain, the delta of the Bhone, Sardinia, Sicily, the valley of the 

 Danube, and South Kussia. It is a resident in India, Ceylon, 

 Burmah, and the main island of Japan, as well as in South 

 China. 



In the Lower Danube the nests of these birds were generally 

 placed in a fork of a side branch of the pollard willows, and were 

 made on quite a different model to that adopted by most birds : 

 they were entirely composed of slender twigs, on some of which 

 the leaves were still remaining ; but the peculiarity of their 

 structure was that nearly all the twigs radiated from the centre. 

 The nests were rather deep, but the sides were so thin that the 

 eggs could be seen from the level. It is difficult to give exact 

 measurements of nests formed on this plan, but the thick part of 

 the nest was about ten inches across. 



The eggs of the Little Egret are from three to six in number 

 and uniform bluish in colour. They vary in length from I'D to 

 1'65 inch, and in breadth from 1*4 to 125 inch. On an average 

 they are smaller than eggs of the Night Heron ; but small eggs 

 of the latter species are indistinguishable from large eggs of 

 the Little Egret. The eggs of the Squacco Heron are much 

 smaller. 



THE SQUACCO HEKON. 



(Ardea comata.)* 

 Plate 17, Fig. 2. 



The Squacco Heron must be regarded as a very rare straggler 

 to the British Islands, principally on spring migration. It is con- 

 fined to Africa and the basin of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, 

 and is a straggler to the Canary Islands ; it is a resident in all 

 suitable localities in Africa, breeding in Algeria, Egypt, Damara 

 Land, the Transvaal, &c. In the Spanish Peninsula it is only 



* Ardca ralloides — Saunders, Manual, p. 65. Ardcola ralloides — Sharpe, 

 Handb., III., p. 83. 



